NEW YORK – Maybe Mike D’Antoni‘s return to Madison Square Garden wasn’t quite as disastrous as it seemed like it would be when his Lakers were down 58-32 early in the second quarter. Led by Kobe Bryant and benefiting from Carmelo Anthony‘s absence over the final 18:41, L.A. fought back somewhat and made the final score, 116-107, respectable on the surface. On this night, no one asked if D’Antoni felt embarrassed by his team’s performance.

But a loss is a loss, whether it comes in New York or Cleveland, and whether it comes by nine points or 90. And as they wait on Steve Nash, the Lakers are burying themselves in a deeper hole every day.

At 9-14, the Lakers are only 2 1/2 games out of a playoff spot. Nash is slowly getting closer to making his long-awaited return, and with him, comes a more efficient offense.

Nash, who has been sidelined the past 21 games with a fractured fibula in his left leg, told reporters after the game that he has worked some on-court running into his rehabilitation and plans to practice with the team in L.A. next week when the Lakers return from their four-game trip.

“Hopefully, I can practice next week,” Nash said. “We’ll see. I’m definitely getting better. We’ll see if I continue to improve and there’s no setbacks, then I should be able to practice next week.

“On the court, I’ve been running the last day and a half, and [my leg] has been responding pretty well. So, I haven’t done a really huge load, huge amount, but it’s something.”

Nash said he does not have a return game circled in his mind. The Lakers play the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday, followed by a road game at Golden State on Saturday and then another game against the Knicks at Staples Center on Christmas Day.

“I’m not really sure how it will respond,” Nash said. “I still can’t do certain things. I’m just knocking down hurdles, so the first one is to be able to run, and then you hop the next few hurdles and take some contact and see how my body responds.”

After Thursday’s loss to New York, both D’Antoni and Bryant spoke of offensive improvements that need to be made. D’Antoni wants to get Dwight Howard involved in more pick-and-rolls. Bryant feels he needs to be more of a point guard.

Sounds great. If only offense was the problem.

The Lakers gave up 116 points on Thursday. It took them over 17 minutes to get two consecutive stops. For most of the night, all it took was one pick-and-roll and one pass to compromise their defense to the point where at least one Knick was wide open in a position to score.

After getting scorched for 68 points in the first half, the Lakers made an adjustment on their pick-and-roll coverage, switching everything in the final 24 minutes. But the Knicks were still able to get the buckets they needed to stem the tide down the stretch, and switching on everything is never going to be a fruitful solution long-term.

No matter what defense the Lakers were playing on Thursday, breakdowns were abundant. Just ask Antawn Jamison, who didn’t feel the need to be within 15 feet of sniper Steve Novak in the corner when Raymond Felton dribbled across the midcourt line late in the third quarter. After Novak’s three splashed through the net, D’Antoni furiously called timeout and screamed at Jamison.

“There was a couple of plays in the second half that I thought killed our momentum,” D’Antoni said afterward, “that guys were just being not real attentive. Those things we have to solve to be able to win in the situation we’re in right now.”

Yes, the Knicks’ offense is playing at a historically efficient level right now. But they still scored an efficient 55 points on 47 points with Anthony off the floor on Thursday.

So Bryant can play more point guard until Nash gets back. And then Nash can take over and get the offense running more efficiently in another week or two. But the Lakers aren’t digging themselves out of this hole unless they figure things out defensively.

Maybe an efficient offense itself can turn a 9-14 team into a 48-34 team. But is that even good enough to make the playoffs in the Western Conference this season?

The Golden State Warriors are proving that they’re for real. The Minnesota Timberwolves have done a much better job (by playing great defense, by the way) of staying afloat without their starting point guard. And the Denver Nuggets have done the same despite a brutal, road-heavy schedule.

Beyond that, the East appears to be weaker than ever. Every West team has the ability to fatten their record by feasting on the terrible and mediocre teams in the other conference.

That means the Lakers can’t just wait and see what they’ve got once Nash and Pau Gasol are healthy. The time for change is right now.

202 Comments

I really dont see why these Kobe Haters shoots around as if they know everything..if youd see the games, Kobe and Metta are the only consistent this seaso. If Kobe wouldnt be around that’s automatic -30pts in Laker stat you fool. But I need to know if Dumbtoni will still be the Laker’s couch for the next two years- coz me and Kobe will fly out to other team and will get his( Kobe) 6th ring there. I dont think Nash would save or help this team to playoffs, and since Gasol comes soft i playoffs what’s there to accomplish. And Howard isnt playing the way He used to…and hiring Dumbtoni its an early vacation to us Laker fans. Jim Buss nice move on taking Antoni, look where is your team now?-sad season to real laker fans out there.

This is a problem that teams have today. When one guy is out the coaches and players keep sayin, “Well, when so and so gets back things will get betta.” They didn’t have that problem back in the day. If Magic Johnson got injured then Norm Nixon would take his place and eitha Kareem or James Worthy would fill that leadership void. It is important for a team to have other impact players on the floor as well as a good bench. This is part of the reason why LeBron left Cleveland. They like to put the work load on him instead of gettin the right pieces, with the acception of Shaq and to some degree, Ben Wallace.

We have to accept the fact that the best team/s in the league now are those with younger roster. If you look at the Thunder, Heat, Knicks, Memphis, and even Spurs has develop young talents surrounding their core 3. Lakers is one of the oldest team in the league now and the type of offense D’Antoni is more on running and pick & roll that requires athleticism. If you could remember D’Antoni is at its best during his tenure in Phoenix with Nash, Amare & Marion. The trade for Gasol with a young talents of Williams and Pekovic in return would mean an upgrade of the roster that is fitted on the offense of Mike D’Antoni.

Who will defend Wetbrook, Durant? CP3, Griffin, De Andre?

Think about it…

Derrick Williams is a talented player but given limited playing time in Minnesota.
Pekovic will be a back up Center for D12.

the Lakers current problem is Kobe, and his obsession with self glory, and noone wants to acknowledge it? If The King or Melo or KD shot the ball like crazy and their teams struggeled (to put it nicely) they waould be under a so much scrutiny from fans and media saying, Wy dont you use your teammates more? Do you really think teams are shocked to see an iso for you? Why are you shotting 30+ shots and not winning? And the most ammusing thing is had this Trainwreck of a team actually done well this season Howard would have resigned no questions asked, but i think its safe to say now, he’ll gladly take a pay cut to get outa this mess and He’ll end up with Brklyn or NY…best NBA season in a long time…many more years of grief for Laker fans makes the game so much better for real NBA fans!

i agree with you Bob, D’Antoni was a HUGH mistake..like I said before how many titles does D’Antoni have NONE!!! how many does Phil have..11..wow!! mike antoni does’nt know how to utilize his players..all he wants is run-and-gun..stupid..Phil knows how to coach guys with the talent they have now..he understands their strengths and weakness. they should fired mike antoni..look what happen when he was coach with the Knicks..hahahaha,,now look at the knicks..and then look at the lakers now..really sad, i don’t think Nash is the answer..no way..

First of all, did “Boyan” really say, buy out Kobe? That’s disrespectful. Trading Kobe is the dumbest thing ever heard. The only thing that anyone could ever do in the history of the NBA is if someone would have traded MJ. The answer hear is lengthy. First of all, Dwight needs to toughen up so Kobe can actually yell at him when he is playing stupid. Nash needs to get healthy. Gasol needs to be traded two years ago. It’s a shame that Odom was such a baby when he was traded, they could sure use him so their bench actually mattered. Trades need to happen so they can get some youngsters into the rotation. Mike D’antoni should have never been brought in. No disrespect to him, he is a good coach. However he doesn’t fit this roster and this roster doesn’t fit him. Jim Buss needs to check his ego and get Phil. If they do all that then the season can be salvaged. If they don’t, I doubt they can win. They might make the playoffs but it won’t be a good seed, maybe the 5 or 6.The defense is awful, can’t win a title like this. Stop trying to address offense. 107 points is great especially when you shoot 42%. They will get their target of 110-115 if they shoot 46% when Nash gets back. Defense wins championships.

Yes Phil would have been a better choice but they screwed that up.. even if they fire D’Antoni there isnt enough money in the world to get Phil to come coach now after the way they treated him during the last hiring period

Should have never hired rabbit face, Jim buss out, go over permenant daddy vacation. Magic J & Phil in. Its lakers Karma for signed huge TV deal for$$$ while disrespecting loyal fan base not able to watch Team on TV. Now lakers fans dont even want to watch anymore! There is no I in the word team Kobe he still has not figured that out after 5 rings & 17 yrs. Clippers are taking over smelLA.

Kobe cracks me up!!!! when they get behind either his finger hurts, he has the flu and last night his back hurt. He can’t stand to lose. He always has an excuse but still plays. Was glad the ref’s didnt give him a foul the time he just fell down “flopping.”

It is impossible to change e new laker team with bench players barely knowing eachother potentials to a championship contender team,impossible!They’ve not exercise a lot togheter,its too short for that bringing up a championship title.
They miss a wheel at they’rs vehicle, i mean they have 3 important players injured for some time!You cannot win the race with 1 wheel missing all the time!Just impossible,New York was missing only 1 player melo,almost from that second half Lakers
where comming back in the game just they didn’t having time enuf.Every team in the same situation like Lakers experience the same results with important injured players,every team.

The Lakers didn´t found his teammate…Excelent players ding his job alone…For offense, ok…But for defense?? A lot of guys said that has been Howards fault…IBut if you can´t stay other players away from the paint, there was nothing he can do about…Same for KB, If he is the scorer for the team, he needs to be a backyard, and a good one, from a defensive PG, or SF. But the SF is covering the PF, who isn´t understand how to play with DH…That´s the problem. The language of basketball is different to the five points of the star. Any guilts? Yes, the coach is the first, and the interest of the players is the second, but even more important that the fist. My suggestion: Trade singles places with another team who needs to found himself too. Rockets, for example.

the lakers arent going to win a champ this season. kobe knows it howard knows it the entire coaching staff and organization knows it. this season isnt about winning a ring. its about cohesiveness. it doesnt matter how many winss losses they pile up everybody knows u dont win a championship with one offseason move. ask any championship team in nba history. what this season is about is getting the offense to work. to flow. for kobe and dwight to click. dwight is their future and if they keep losing they are going to lose dwight. they picked dantoni as coach for the offense to flow thats why its all they talk about. kobe n shaq hated each other on offense. n kobe n dwight arent looking too good now. they want to make sure that next season when they are ready to make that championship push that their two stars like each other and know how to play off each other. becuse once they do that their defense will lock down as well. but if they keep losing they will lose howard and kobe will most likely also retire prematurely. i also have a feeling they will be hiring phil when they are ready and mature enuf to compete in the finals

The problem starts with where the problem has always been.. Kobe is you lakers fans problem that causes more problems. It’s not easy playing with such a selfish non leader as the one you all have.. He’s not going to change at all.. The Lakers have always seemed to do better when he’s not around, been proven before. Why not let him come off of the bench a couple of games?? I’d bet your LA drama squad would play better and get themselves going faster than with Kobe on the court.. Team has to gel among themselves before the “Arrogant Shooter” gets the ball and shuns all away. I know it’s gotta be bad in the locker room with this clown that blames everything on everyone else! I’m surprised Artest hasn’t beat him down yet…. For he sure needs it. May bring the arrogant 24 back to reality. LMAO! He’s your problem along with the problems! Only made in LA..

I almost forgot about what Artest said when they first got D.Howard……he said they were going to beat Chicago’s best winning record and now they might not make it to the playoffs. That’s sad!!!!!!!! A team with a bunchof star players has to have the right coach for it to work (Phil). The Lakers spend big when it comes to players but when it comes to the coaches they shop at pricerite or Dollar General and that’s not going to work. Some of the players won numerous rings and your coach hasn’t won one. How are the players suppose to respect D’Antoni and he hasn’t even won a ring yet? It was a problem with Mike Brown and its a problem for D’Antoni. I know Kobe is looking at these coaches like “man what the hell are you talking about?” THE PRINCETON? HAHAHAHAHAHAAH………..Now you got D’Antoni saying “we have to run the floor” with D.Howard coming off a back injury, Gasol a knee injury, Nash coming back forom a injury…..it’s just not going to happen. SORRY!

1. Fire D´Antonio, bring in for example Bernie Bickerstaff
2. Jamison can´t play basketball anymore… Can´t make any three´s and his defense is horrible
3. They need a good defensive point guard! It all begins there, every (explesitive) time the opponents blows by Duhon or whoever stands there…
4. Meeks has to begin making his shots

I love it! The Lakers are done…….PERIOD! They tried to power up with name brand players and are just finding out that its not that easy. The Lakers lost their hunger for a championship after they won their last ring and now they add older players instead of putting young athletes around Kobe. Sorry Kobe you are offically stuck at 5 rings and will not win another one. Plus they bring a run and gun coach to run the the team instead of getting Phil….JUST STUPID! D’Antoni doesn’t have a defensive bone in his body. You would think the Lakers would have learned from D’Antoni in the Knicks situation. Think about it! They said it was Carmelo’s fault when the Knicks was losing and had Lin to be the Knicks savyor and look what happened when D’Antoni left the Knicks started winning because they started playing D and the players finially liked the system that they were in. Lakers keep up the good work……..Celtics all day!

I AGREE! BUT THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN……..IT MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED IF THEY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN PHIL WHEN THEY FIRED MIKE BROWN BUT WHEN THEY PICKED D’ANTONI OVER PHIL THAT WAS A SLAP IN THE FACE FOR PHIL FROM JIM BUSS BECAUSE HE DIDN’T WANT TO GIVE PHIL THAT POWER OVER THE TEAM.

The only thing that Kobe is on point for is scoring as much as he can. Lakers are 1 of 11 when Kobe goes over 30 points in a game. But don’t worry Lakers Fans it will all be good when you get your 38 year old point guard with a bum leg back…lol. The only shot they have of getting home court advantage in the play-off is drawing the Clipper in the first round. Speaking from the past 3 years your team needs about 48 wins to make the playoff in the west, and I it’s just the start of the season but the Lakers would have to go 39-20 through the rest of their season to get to 48 wins. Not to mention 30 of those are away games.

Sorry, the D’Antoni genius is all smoke and mirrors.
Winning basketball is about defense at every level, even more so in the pros where everyone can score.
These same players have been decent defensively and are now completely inept because there is no plan and no accountability.
But excuse me, how can ANY coach at this level not address both sides of the game? First it was Brown who doesn’t know offense. Now D’Antoni doesn’t know defense? This all belongs squarely on the shoulders of Jim Buss and the players.
Bickerstaff had them more motivated than anyone this year because he at least held them accountable for playing like professionals with basic basketball principles of offense and defense.
Kobe gives an interview and says his legacy is that he played his best every night – total garbage. He hasn’t consistently played defense for at least 5 years or more, and has one thought on his mind at all times: shoot it. Greatest Laker? NO WAY.
Even under Phil, this team only played defense half the time at best. Derrick Fisher led and held this team accountable for 10 + yrs.
Howard is completely overrated and has no competitive spirit. How can any pro shoot less than 50% of free throws? LAZY. NO PRIDE. He makes Bynum look dedicated.
As long as Jim Buss is running the show, they’re done.

When they hired D’Antoni they threw a big wrench into this team he is not capable of making the adjustments necessary to run this group of players. D12 forgot to bring his game with him from Orlando and needs to check himself he does not have his head in the game. World Peace is playing great but he nor any other Laker can stay in their man as long as D12 is missing his help rotations. Lakers have issues but blowing up the team is not the answer but I doubt the Laker management will be willing to admit they messed up again on the coach selection. I personally would let bernie have the wheel again and see what happens at least he puts the pieces in the right places instead of trying to force them into a different puzzle.

Why is everyone blaming the Coach, Phil’s last series coaching the Lakers they got swept by Dallas, Mike Brown couldn’t do it, D’Antoni is already on the hot seat. Face it, the problem is not the coach, it’s the players, retool the team while they still can, the only thing this bunch will lead the league in is foul shots per game( they still get around 30 a game although I don’t know how)…Face it, Laker days are over for now, You got the Thunder, Spurs, Clippers, Grizzlies, Knicks, I mean who out of that bunch will the Lakers beat this year, they stink. I mean, all the players that they have on the roster and they’re putting all their hopes on the return of a 38 year old point guard?….Come on Man, Laker Days are over for now…..

LOL. The lakers fans complaining and whining. You should have kept your mouth shut before predicting a record setting season.. The team that was going to “destroy” every team….Like Kobe says: “these lakers fans are dumb”

The biggest problem is personnel. With Gasol and Nash out, the Lakers really only have 2 NBA starters (Kobe and Dwight) playing. Artest, Jamison, Jordan Hill, and Meeks are rotational level players. Then, players like Duhon, Ebanks, Morris,and Clark should be benchwarmers who are used very sparingly.

The Lakers’ problems go far deeper than simply missing Nash. If they’re pinning their playoff hopes on the 38-year old Nash, they are truly desperate. The Lakers should be an object lesson to all that, while you can throw money away to buy big name players, you can’t buy heart. Or defense.

PHIL, PHIL, PHIL. Easy to go young but who would they be able to get gasol for amare, fine. Go get some missing people like kenyon martin, q richardson and throw in a new old age clipper style second plus unit with hill, jamison and meeks off the bench, and all or a sudden you have a chance to rest the main guys. By the way, the interim coach had a great record so firing mike is not that big of a deal. Just another example of young uneducated management in a work place failing at the position due to lake of knowledge and training.

Why do lakers fans think they could the best players in a trade for Paul, metta or Jamison. There are wizard players better than them. Nash isn’t going to change anything and without a bench I doubt they even make it to the playoffs.

I just dont understand why teams continue to hire Mike D’antoni. He did not win anything with phoenix although he had 3 All Stars (Nash, Amare, Marion) and many extermly well role players as Johnnson, Richardson, Barbosa (not all at the same time). Dirk would have dreamed of a team like that (he never had an Allstar on his side since josh howard some years ago and dont tell me marion is still the same player as in phx. The point is phx had a very talented team and they still did never come to the finals cause D’antoni does not know how to install good D.
La just needs a defensive minded coach as Carlisle etc. Its always the same thing. Just dont get why teams hired guys like don nelson (same problem) and continue to hire D’antoni. BTW, check out Mike Woodson’s success as a defensive minded coach in new york. how were the knicks doing with D’antoni?

only the lakers would get this much attention for losing this much…. they talk about change… wait how many articles have they wrote this year involving the Lakers and “change”… hope they go down in flames while everyone including NBA writers ride the bandwagon… cant wait to see what happens when people hop off…

This is what happens when you pay big contracts for 3-4 players which leaves you with not much room to play with, just average veteran minimum caliber players who are on the twilight end of there careers, If Kobe wanted to win, he would void his contact and tell them pay me 16-18 million vice the 28 million he is now, trade Gasol cause he just seems he doesnt want to be in LA anymore. First mistake they made was not even trying to negotiate with Phil Jackson, this team is too old to be running the type of offense Mike Antoni wants. He is not a good fit, just like Mike Brown was not a good fit.

when pau and nash will be back, it won’t change anything because the system of the coach won’t work with the kind of players he has. older players can’t run fast anymore and can’t compete with fresh legs and more athletic players.
AND WITH KOBE WANTING THE BALL ALL THE TIME MAKES HIS TEAMMATE a BUNCH OF DECORATIONS!!!!

The problem with the lakers is that two egos the size of Kobe and Dwight Howard ,aka superman, cannot fit on one court at the same time. Get over it allready, the west has a plethera of exciting teams to watch. Heck even LA has an exciting team to watch…. and none of them are the lakers.

Has anyone notice the poor coaching decisions in the front office? Mike Brown and D’Antoni? One is all def and nooo off and the other is all off and no def. Where is the logic in these choices they are making in coaches? They should have chose Phil, he would have made everyone better and played to their strengths with pick and rolls, fast breaks, inside outside basketball. Smh

We are the Lakers, what is wrong with us we have the greatest franchise in sport history, this is not like us, we were and is able to make something out of nothing with any and every coach and player who was willing to work with us!!!!
Come on lakers lets get it together so we can get to the playoffs and WIN ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP that each and everyone of you guys want so bad, wheather its your first,second, sixth it doesnt matter as a team it wil be our SEVENTEENTH champion ship banner!!!!!
Lets start playing as the lakers that won back after back after back!!!!1
We can do this….we have to have FAITH,RESPECT and TRUST in each other!!!
#I believe we can win another championship
Lakers Nation

D’Antoni is not the right coach for this team. Everyone knows it. Phil Jackson is the right coach for this lineup but we can’t do anything about it because D’Antoni was signed to a multi-year deal. Phil should’ve been the one coaching this team right now. D’Antoni is just not the right fit with his uptempo style of Basketball with no defense whatsoever. But it’s not his fault, it’s Jim Buss’ fault. He never wanted to hire Phil Jackson because of personal reasons. We all know it. And the Lakers and us fans are suffering because of it. But we can’t do anything about because he is in charge. The only possible way for the Lakers to improve is for D’Antoni to change his system and maybe hire a defensive coach.

The Lakers cannot keep waiting for Nash’s return. Even if he becomes injury free, it doesn’t mean that he would stay like that for a long time given his age. He could get hurt again, right in his return game, the playoffs, maybe never. Whether or not it happens, the team ought to do well even without him. A Spurs team made of purely second-unit players nearly beat the Heat, complete with their superstars, so LA would need to be able to come up with something decent in such drastic situations. Obviously, the team isn’t even remotely close to that, squandering at least six games to teams they should have beaten in the first place. But let’s give credit to San Antonio’s bench, which is way more effective than the Lakers’. Trade Ebanks, Blake, either Duhon or Morris, and maybe even Jordan Hill, for more consistent players. Letting go of Gasol has been the center of basketball news, but I don’t see any other team willing to absorb his contract, or more importantly, trade for someone who can contribute more to LA. Keep him for now, work on the bench big time and see how that goes.

Trade Gasol for Kevin Love, if that could work. From what I understand, Love isn’t exactly happy with management in Minn. Even when Rubio gets back, I think there will still be a problem. But that still leaves a problem, point guard defense. The Wesbrooks, Roses, Walls, K. Ivings, and Rondos of the leagues (even some of the lesser talented pg’s) wreak havok on the Lakers because they just can’t defend at the point. Kobe can’t handle much more of this at his age. It’s amazing what he’s doing now. Heck, even though the Lakers aren’t winning, the way he’s been playing is astonishing; MVP caliber.

It’s so funny that they are relying all their hope on a 38 (soon to be 39) year old Nash who is coming out of injury. And they were talking about the best record in the league before the start of the season! This Lakers team is the biggest proof that it takes more than just superstars to be a good team, how could they forget the ’04 finals?

they dont deserve to be compared to the 04 team, that team was way more talented even though they had huge conflicts between them at the time ( Shaq-Kobe) and also many critical injuries late in playoffs (malone – shaq), the 04 team was waaaayy better, the current Lakers team is simply AWFULL

I don’t get it.. Why are they constantly reporting about the Lakers? After every loss they are doomed and after every win they are ‘back on track’… Stop this nonsense and just cover the NBA instead of just the Lakers. Every team deserves media coverage.

Phil Jackson isn’t going to do any better and although D’Antoni isn’t doing a good job, the bottom line is player chemistry. They need more hunger regardless of age…Knicks have a lot of old guys and they’re making it work. They need to make some strategic changes now. Blow up the team and make some real moves to get the right mix in.

AMEN…We need chemistry,quick…but just like the miami heat when bosh,wade and lebron got together for the first time on one team…the we loosing at a point and time but the quickly beging to TRUST EACH OTHER!!!!!! Thats what we lakers need to do

last year it hurt watchin ma lakers play…. now…… it just makes me wanna cry, the last 2 years only bickerstaff has shown he coaches better then brown AND antoni, lakers should have known their s a reason antoni walked away from the knicks and could never win big with his all star team suns back in the day, guess what-what were struggling with is exactly what antoni doesnt preach… defense… 4 years of this coaching style…..wew, wake me up in 5 years so i can watch my lakers again lol

Mike D’Antoni should try to used a bigger line-up, where Kobe Bryant will be in Point Guard position, MWP in Shooting Guard, Jamison in Small Forward, Gasol/Hill in 4th spot and Dwight in Center Position

TRADE GASOL?????
Gasol is the reason why they won 2 championships and went 3 times to the finals in a row…Kobe was there them same players were there, suddenly Gasol arrives and they start a winning streak that led them to the 2008 finals.Before Gasol they werent winning…
And now without Gasol the arent winning as well.They simple cant win anyone without Gasol.
Lakers are 0-10 whenever Kobe scores 30 Pts.

Actually they are 1-11, but last year they were 17-7 when he scored 30 plus. Him scoring 30+ points is not the issue. You fans need to get a clue. He has been scoring points his whole career, and to be honest you need a player that can give you about 30 a night. Don’t think so??? If you don’t believe it then please tell me when was the last time any team won a championship without having a guy that can at least give you 25 a night.

Fire D’antoni and Hire Shaw who will run the triangle offense which as we have all seen always plays to the strength of the bigs (pau and howard) get more athletic perimeter defenders (i,e ariza or allen) move world peace to the bench to add more depth and get brown and farmar back…all of theses old lakers i have named because of the fact that they were the reason we got 2 championships in 3 trips. Jim Buss defines the phrase ‘if it aint broke dont fix it’ he has single-handedly destroyed all reminents of phil jackson and the triangle offense even though he won us 5 championships in 10 years and took the lakers to 7 finals…HE IS A FOOL GET RID OF HIM

I think d best solution for the lakers woes right now is to trade kobe bryant and get rid of those aging guys, time to rebuild to whole team by getting younger n hungrier players. Take for example OKC, they dont even make the playoffs on their 1st year as a okc(frm seattle), but look what they are now, one of the best!

A good coach should find a way to win without one of his All Star players. D’Antoni has Kobe and Dwight, use them!
I didn’t really like the hiring of D’ANtoni. He never won a championship with the Phoenix Suns. He tried trading away Carmelo Anthony from NY but fortunately for the Knicks, they chose Carmelo, and look at them now. D’Antoni again is counting on the 39 yr old Nash to turn around their season. I honestly don’t think Nash can turn this around. You need a coach that knows how to use his players without one of their All-Stars. They need a coach that does not stick with a certain system.

I agree with Berdugo! I been say Jerry Sloan since before Mike Brown came aboard. That guy know a great pick and roll game and has the right team for it. Not only that but he stresses defense and is a great coach for it. Jerry Sloan is the ideal…Pick him up Mitch!!!

They should fire their bench and hire Kenyon Martin, Michael Redd, Delonte West I’m just saying they’re better free agents out there better than their bench and not trying to sound to crazy but Allen Iverson is still on the market for a cheap price oh and I am not a Laker fan it’s just a suggestion.

hahahaha…l.a. no play-off…whahahaha…don’t compare them to my heat …. heat struggle on thier 1st season of big 3..thats ok bcoz they still on thier prime ..lakers they cannot wait anymore they are older teams…..championship..in ur dreams..whahahahaha

When the Laker front office starts floundering around and reaching (see: Karl Malone/Smush Parker) it usually signals the end of the road for that incarnation of purple and gold. I’m sure the rebuilding/reloading process will be swift and without mercy.

One thing nobdy seems to notice is that only Bryant and Metta were on the roster and in the rotation one year ago. And with D’Antoni, they completely changed what Brown was doing. Coaching wise, they went from the triangle to none (aka Mike Brown offense) to Princeton to letting their players… hmm… play (Bickerstaff) to D’Antoni’s “whatever”.
Keep in mind that these players need time to gel and find out each other’s strengths and, only then, try to adress their overall issues. It will take another 3 months for them to establish who they are (be it a good or a bad team).

Nash will help, so will Gasol.

To get consistency to their play, given Nash’s limitations (around 32 mins per night, no more than 8-10 straight), they should consider bringing Pau off the bench. The trick with “run and gun” is that it needs consistency from all players sharing the floor at any given time. Having a fabulous starting 5 won’t produce all that much because no matter who you go to or what game plan you have, there’s always 1-2 guys who’s talents are not being used for that particular play or sequence. And even this very simple idea, it takes time to actively aknowledge it.

I’d use a starting 5 of Nash, Bryant, Metta, Hill and Howard. Make it pick and roll – centric, with Nash – Howard initiating things and letting Kobe be an efficient scorer. Then Let Pau come in and make the defense work against fresh legs and talented hands. During the second qurter, let Pau be the offense focus, while getting Meeks and Jamison some shots, when the defenses collapse around Gasol. That is, play inside – out and let those shooters warm up within the flow of the game.
By the third quarter, apply some dose of Kobe + Dwight pick and roll, maybe get some opponents into foul trouble. Nash and Gasol would take a back seat, preserving their energy for the fourth quarter.

And when it gets to crunch time, everyone would be involved actively in the offense and fresh enough to play defense, when it counts. There probably wouldn’t be doubl digit defficits to recover, or any case of burn-out of one particular player.

It’s not a formula, but it would be a more efficient plan of preserving energy and shots for everyone.

Nash will fix a lot of issues. But the others guys don’t seem very hungry for wins, even though most of these guys make more money in an year than regular people in 10 years. Dissapointment. Let’s hope things will change with Nash. I think the players need to have a talk.

D’antonis system just doesnt fit this team. They were about to get the best coach in Phil Jackson instead Lakers just let him go and now they’re paying price and just settling for something thats not working for them at all.

As a Boston fan I am not in grieve when the Lakers lose. But I do feel sorry for Kobe. He is playing his guts out in a warrior style and trying to win it by himself. Which is probably one of their problems. Kobe gets no help from his teammates, so he decides to become point guard but takes at least 25 shots and does not feed Howard and company. This does not help team chemistry.
When the trade was announced I doubted that the characters of Howard and Bryant don’t match (showclown meets warrior). Sounds silly, but I think it wise to trade either Howard or Bryant to make it work.

Gasol is the problem? trade? but…do you watch the tv?? the stadistics? Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant is the best of lakers, Howard is jajajaja and jajajaj and lost team and jajajaja, forever jajaja?? the fan lakers are a big show, stars and stars, but work on the floor…nothing!

LA welcome to the Dwightmare! As we found out in Orlando, Dwight Howard makes all the players around him worse – especially when playing against good teams. Stan Van Gundy had his issues – but he was great at team defense – and that is what propelled Dwight to defensive player of the year 3 times. Dwight’s legacy is already pretty clear: He is a Ben Wallace plus and NOT a Shack minus. He is not in the same category as the great centers and he will probably never win a championship. I also agree with the guy that mentioned that he really looks bad in a headband. Finally, now that Dwight is a grown man he needs to man up and realize that “Dwight” is really just one syllable – and not “D-wight.”

i think D’Antoni is using Nash and Pau as his scape goats. The problem is on his system. Come on he can’t force his system to players who doesn’t like the system. D’Antoni is a mistake on the first place. If it was only Phil then the win-loss would be reversed. PERIOD!!!!

Totally agree, Nash is not going to turn much around and definitely not in the defence. Nash does not play defence, never has. He will not stop Westbrock, Parker, Curry, Damian L. etc, etc,. Nash becomes more of the problem in the defence, he was a defensive liability from the start. The Transition Defence and Weak Side Defence are just a few of the major problems. Can I say at this point Mike Brown!! A Defensive genie who was fired because his Offense wasn’t working. He is laughing out loud now. Future developments will be interesting to see.

What Barclay said, was right. D’Antoni has to change his system to fit the players he has. It’s not always possible for a player to adjust to a system because maybe he doesn’t have the specific abilities needed to do the job or a specific skill set. A reporter said, D’Antoni should take the D out of his name. I think this is a correct observation. Knowing his history offense has always come first for him but without defense you can’t win the title. Merry Christmas and remember Gods Son died for US……Believe in Him and you will have forever lasting

why they don’t let Bernie Bickerstaff coach the lakers?they were playing better with him.at least they can win 4 straight,now we barely win 1 game.Nash won’t be the answer,the answer is to play better defense .

yup, the lakers need to do something. but I believe the issue here is lack of motivation. who would want to play with KOBE when your salary is 1/30 than him and just being a decoy on offense? maybe it is time to rebuild with Dwight as the center of the offense giving Kobe the option to do ALA Tim Duncan or leave the team. Yes, Kobe might be efficient in the STATS but he should give his money’s worth, at 27M this season and 30M next, he should shatter the stat sheets, 40 ppg, 15 rpg, 10 apg, 5spg…etc… that’s what a 27M / season player is worth

The end of ur opinion was useless babble…BUT
i agree that the GM has to say. kobe…this is dwights team now…accept a role of atleast equality or your out….
watching kobe hoist 25+ shots a game while dwight gets 10 (max) is so gross

Why is everybody worried about how many shots Kobe take??? He’s been doing that his whole career and yet he has an MVP trophy, 5 Rings and, 4 All Star MVPs. Him shooting is not the issue, it defense you clowns. They scored 107 points that’s enough to win 90% of the time as long as you play defense. Look at all the ending scores and see what the average score would. I promise you it won’t be 107…… Anyone can have a comment, but if you do it a lot then youre a commentator and if youre that, then come with comments that make since and stop hating a player that is one of the greatest ever!!!!!

Let Gasol and Duhon go. Those two contracts will be more than enough to bring Kyle Korver and Josh Smith from Atlanta. If not, bring in J J Hickson and Ryan Anderson instead. The lakers will still be bad on defense at the point, but at least with more weapons spreading the floor, there is no doubt we can do better than this.
One more thing, get rid of D’Antoni and sign Brian Shaw. It really is that simple.

Jamison is a bum. its been quarter of the season and he has been hopeless meeks , pretty much the same, and dont get me started on duhon or morris.If it were up to me i would get rid of every bench player except for hill and see what i can get in return, no need for big names, just hungry talented ppl ie kevin martin style.I would wait a bit on pau even though i dont see him getting any better.

It’s gonna be funny watching laker games in the near future when nash is back the scores will be like 120-130 cause we gonna be scoring even more but allowing the same amount of points, Insane.

Didn’t anyone in the laker front office see this coming with the only defensive players being a non 100% howard, a 34 year old bryant, an old and crazy artest and hill ??

Lakers need to put together a Gasol – based care package for the Portland Trailblazers in exchange for their nice young power forward.

Aldridge can shoot jumpers, he’s younger, hungrier, and is itching for a fair shot at some real playoff potential. Him and Dwight would play AMAZING together. Aldridge is a pick and pop kinda player who’s got a nice postup game, match that with Dwight’s beastliness…that’s the start of a decent change.

Artest needs to go, Blake needs to go, Jamison is no Odom substitute. Lakers need a 6th man, a reliable point guard and some youth QUICK

I’m not much of a laker fan but it PAINS me to see them do this bad from the start. Lets face it Howard is no Shaq, Nash plays NO D, terrible coach and the bench is garbage. RUN THE TRIANGLE!!!!! They have all the right players for it… SMH

I agree when you said DH is no shaq….but the team has to start treating him like he the superman he is, give him the ball and let him draw the double team!!!!!!
On another note: kobe cant be giving his all everyday /everygame he needs help from EVERYBODY (starters,and bench) We have guys that can get the job done (mostly veterans).
On the Lakers these role players needs to start playing there role: PG’S needs to start acting like PG’S, SG’S needs to have a shotters mentality,SF needs to play small but think big, PF needs to bring the power, and the Centers needs tobe the center of attention.
Lakers we cant wait for Nash and/or Gasol, because the time is now, we need to play like we havent won a championship (regardless) if we have!!!!! We have the secret weapons and the mentality and the knowledge og the game. The dynasty of the Lakers organization is in you guys hands, let this group of LAKERS BE KNOWN THREW THE WHOLE NBA.
Lakers nation

Even Kobe’s personal one on one defence is poor.
Sorry to say, but LA has real big problems. And I think it’s DH, I really don’t think he has a killer inside of him. He is blaming people. It’s not his ability, it’s mental.
All that crying over in Orlando has been brought to LA and I think it’s part of DH.
Get this team healthy and focused, and they will win 75%.
I don’t like LA, but I really feel sorry for KB and Pau. Two players that know what needs to be done.

Trading Pau Gasol or any Laker player would only make the situation worse. Firing Mike D’antoni and hiring back Phil Jackson is the only solution. The Lakers should make a quick decision now before it’s too late.

DAntoni should adjust for the sake of the Lakers. Their biggest advantage which is the front court has been out of the mix, they keep focusing on jumpers or 3 pointers yet nothings been consistent so far. Only Kobe is, though Im a Laker fan I admit Kobe’s efforts are useless especially if guys around him doesn’t have the fire to win. They need to find bench players who can step up especially at the point position. Wondering when will the OLDER BUSS step in again??

I agree Lakers need to change their bench and get rid of Gasol. They need to get someone like Bosh or a younger player like varejao to be a better presence insie the paint. Until Lakers make some changes they are just going too go downhill. Come on Lakers, get on with it!

I never imagined that the Lakers will be out of the Playoffs, hopefully not.. I am getting lazy to watch their games.. NO SHOWTIME, NO DEFENSE, AND NO WIN.. time for BETTER change Kupchak.. think about it,.,

I feel kinda sorry for Dwight. Cause he’s mostly the only one to do most defensive plays right, not Kobe, not Jamison. So it kinda feels like Magic era again for Dwight the only difference is that the rest of the team is uncooperative. Even though Kove reached that 30,000 point mark, if he’s not performing his defense like what he does in offense, it’s useless. But there is still a hope.. maybe.. if they can work this out.

Are u kiddin me? Dwight’s defense has been garbage, he’s the reason LAL’s comeback effort got stopped late in the game, he couldnt get the DEFENSIVE rebound…. kobe’s defense has been on point, IDK what you have been watching.

im tired of hearin about these lakers every single day.. i feel like im the only one who foresaw this coming juss like the lame old “dream team” of the philadelphia eagle.. these lakers lack the will to win and are a bunch of babies all they do is complain whine and create excuses. dwight has been doing nothin but cause caoches to lose there jobs becuz of his whining.. shudve never let bynum go in the first place. nd there is nothing a 39 yr old steve nash cud do to save the season stop fooling yur selves lakers fans all of a sudden steve nash seems like the new Micheal Jordan the way yu lakersmake it seem. its over lakers will miss the playoffs go kick rocks

If you’re so tired of hearing about the Lakers, then stop going onto a site that obviously is going to post Lakers info. Your comment seems stupid to me because Dwight doesn’t complain, he just doesnt play great at the moment. Nash is 38/39 and has been with D’Antoni for what, 5 years? He knows his offense perfectly and it will help the Lakers get more energy to go up and down the court. If other Lakers other than Kobe are being fed the ball, that will improve confidence on the defensive end. Also, I advise you to go back to the 5th grade and learn how to spell. Thanks

In all fairness, Dwight does complain after every play and has done so his whole career. It’s the reason a lot of people call him childish and a whiner. He can’t just play the game the way it’s called and doesn’t appear to play seriously out there. It was all fun and games in ORL since they were not contenders. The Lakers are serious about championships and won’t get close to one with a centerpiece who is not at the same level of focus.

Seriously, people still question the players?
Wrong coaching choice from day 1 – D’Antoni needs to quit coaching for good,
Been saying it since day one he’s not the right man for the job,
Artest has been solid, Kobe has been solid but there’s certainly something still bothering Dwight, he’s not the player we’re used to seeing, less lift, agression, power.
Brian Shaw still on the market?

I said last season Mike D’Antoni would be the Lakers coach if Brown got fired and I knew it would end up like this. Only thing Lakers can do now is wait it out, fire Mike and go to the “Bickerstaff System”, or maybe get rid of their awful backup point guards (and I only say that because things can not be any worse at that position with the Steve’s out).

I don’t think the Lakers can just wait for Captain Canada to return. Presently, the Lakers are not a championship threat, the threat is that they won’t even make the playoffs. On the other hand, that is hard to imagine, given their talent. It is Mike D’Antony who has to figure out something beside the wish to have Nash back to run the show because the Laker organization can not afford to pay another coach to quit coaching the team.

I agree, the Lakers need to do something now. Not sure what though, the ovious thing is to play better defense, but seems to me like there something more going on. Asides from Kobe, I dont see any real fire or fight in the rest of the team. The players are not responding to DAntoni, not even Nash will be able to rescue him from the hole the team is digging itself in. One thing is for sure, something needs to change. ASAP. If we hope to make the playoffs..

What’s going on behind the scenes in the locker room must be what’s hurting the team. There must be a bunch of blaming going on, by Kobe, and the team realizes that they hate playing on the same team as this selfish leader.

I’m the only Lakers fan that seems to use my head… You can’t make more changes now. The Lakers have a new look, three new looks at Coaching staff. the only possible thing that would make sense is possibly letting D’Antoni go and putting Bickerstaff back at the Coaching job.

Only thing I’d say make moves for is to get rid of awful Duhon and Morris. There’s lots of point guards looking for jobs right now that don’t throw the ball to the other team (Morris) and get their ankles broken consistently (Duhon). The only reason I’d be open to trades there is because the point guard spot can’t possibly get worse.

Time for the Lakers to trade, Artest, Jamison, Duhon, and yes, even Gasol has to go for younger, hungrier players and not just for washed out vets or over-hyped players. This team clearly is not in a “WIN NOW” mode, more of a self-destruct mode. This is a lesson for other teams that a bunch of superstars alone won’t get you rings. It takes a combination of coaching, hungry and united players not just big time names. If I were Kupchak I’ll be more than willing to gamble to blow up the line-up to get better players, especially on the bench department.

LA have already traded tens of players in last couple of years, obviously in totally wrong way. The whole idea was comming from KB and Kupchak. They simply demolished a team and should be kikcked out together. Team with over 100 million salary that will not clinch play off. With ”best ever” in his prime sounds totally idiotic. LA can not beat anybody.

So, what LA is supposed to do now?

Logically, to kikck out Kupchak and buy out Kobe, And bring Phil Jackson back, authorizing him also to bring players.

That’s a very sound argument…
Tell me, what are the Lakers’ problems right now? Being too old? Really? Look at the Celtics, the Spurs… It’s not so much about age than it is about communication and trust.
After years of Kobe having a scoring role on the team, it’s going to be a tough transition to facilitating the offense efficiently. That’s why they brought in Nash.
And blowing up the roster at this point in the season won’t do anything positive for the team. If anything, it will only make things worse. These guys are STILL learning to play and trust one another. What do you think will happen when half the team is traded away midseason?
Also, MWP is a huge factor in the Lakers defense. He’s their second best defender after Howard. Two Defensive Players of the Year on one team… What more do you want?
Like I mentioned in another article… This Lakers team is suffering from trust and miscommunication issues.
Trade rumors will only make things worse.

amen. i totally agree. i bought into the hype and big names and, though not a Laker fan, was excited to watch them play. They got big names but the coaching and chemistry is off and the bench is lacking depth. Kupchak is losing his touch (if he ever had one). Getting rid of Odom started their downward spiral. Well…I guess getting swept by the Mavericks in the playoffs was technically the beginning of their downward spiral. Lost Angeles Fakers.

I agree, but disagree on one thing. Trade everybody except for the big four. You know how hard it is for any team to get a big four together like this? Mitch made it seem too easy that everybody is forgetting how hard it is to have the big four that the Lakers have. You can’t just trade them away. Just improve the bench and depth and the big four will be much better automatically. Don’t need to panic and trade the major pieces…

Nevermind. I agree with Karim S. Don’ trade anybody but the Lakers need to somehow add more depth to the bench. 3 of the 4 Mega stars are old and they suppose to be the major contributors. They need some young players that can product like the Celtics courtney lee and Rajon rondo. So, maybe they still have to trade a few pieces of the bench afterall..Just not the mega stars.

There is no one… And I mean NO ONE the Lakers can offer ANYONE if it isn’t one of the stars. Let’s be realisic, who, on the Lakers bench is a good trade piece to acquire some type of talent. Maybe, and your flipping the coin on this one, Steve Blake but everyone else is doo-doo and the whole league knows it. Lmao

Bok you’re plain wrong. You don’t trade away MWP on a team that struggles with defense. Use your head. It’s impossible for a team to get chemistry when a change of coaching has occurred three times in the first quarter of the season.

Sorry if you got the message wrong, but I suggest to trade them while they still have trade value. They should have hired Sloan instead. Look at his record: 2 Finals trips with 3 stars (Malone, Stockton & Hornacek) and a not-so-good at papers bench, but they worked together & pushed Jackson led Bulls to 6 games.

They should have made Jackson or Sloan the head coach for the Lakers. Both are better defensive coaches and would be much more suited to coach the current Lakers roster. Jackson’s 5 rings with Kobe (and of course the 6 with Jordan) talk for themselves. He has been proven time and time again he can manage a team full of stars and take them to the championship. Sloan, though he has not won a title yet as a coach (neither has D’Antoni), is much better with the pick and roll (ex. Stockton-Malone and Williams-Boozer) and he does not demand old players to run up and down the court. Also his defense is much better than what D’Antoni had EVER coached, be it in Phoenix or New York.